Berry Swirls

Such a shame that I haven't posted about American Apparel Berry up to now... I was not wearing it until recently either. Now I really feel bad after I realised what a jewel I've had in my stash all this time and I was not paying any attention to it. Intense and juicy burgundy colour (or berry, as you like), easy application, nice gloss, coverage in 1 coat (although 2 + TC on the photos), fairly long wearing time - all this you can get if you have Berry. Sometimes topped with compliments from other people : )

After a couple of days that I fully enjoyed the colour, I stamped it with AA Rose Bowl, which by itself doesn't really match my skin tone. Oh well, at least I made some use of it as a stamping polish:

One more note: although I have nothing to complain about on this particular polish, such shades - deep red, berry, burgundy etc. - are very demanding during the application. One wrong move and the polish is all around your cuticles (can be seen on my index finger), and there's nothing you can do - it just won't leave if you try to clean up. Or maybe some of you know any secrets of the universe i.e. how to avoid or correct it? : ) I'd be glad to know!

Dreams Come True!!...

...and you start to believe in eternal justice when suddenly your polish lemmings fall on your head. So happened to me recently, when I unexpectedly got China Glaze Frosty from Sonidlo. Since last Christmas (LOL I just found Sona's post in December 2010 and me commenting that I love this polish) I was slobbering over Frosty and Party Hearty having no idea how to get them, but now that I do I'm happy : )

Frosty is a white shimmer polish, totally winter shade. However, it's pretty tricky, too: if you are lucky, you will get "frozen" or "Snow White" nails, if not - red lobster hands. I was lucky in real life, but my camera decided to play some bad joke and was giving me crimson fingers, so I had hard times with shooting the photos. Oh, I'll be fair, the application was neither so easy: I needed 3 coats to get the VNL covered, and I wouldn't say Frosty dries super fast. But I was aware of it because I read so many reviews before : ) Shall we see the polish?

Actually I did some snowy-themed stamping too, but it turned out waaaaay too subtle. One can barely see it:

No doubt, Frosty is one the winter-friendly polishes ever but...no idea why, I want to try it in summer on tanned hands.. : ) Just as an experiment. 

Post of Joy

Just wanted to share my joy with you : ) Last month I won a giveaway at Sonidlo's blog - I'm sure you all know her for her fabulously neat and pretty swatches! As a prize I got a chance to choose some products of Bioeden shop, which mostly sells bio and organic products, from cosmetics to food and what not. So, after three days of browsing their whole assortment, I finally made my mind and almost learnt Czech. And here is what arrived:

I put a Zoya polish so that you could see how HUGE was the box!! Starting to unwrap: a lot of bubbles and paper : )

Beauties, unpacked. As bio as it can be : )

Upper row, left to right:

Urtekram Rose Shampoo

Lavera Faces Aloe Vera Cleansing Milk

Lavera Hair Rose Milk Repairing Hair Conditioner 

(I love rose scent, in case you don't know yet :)

Lavera Faces Calendula Cleansing Gel 

(tried it already, it smells so natural and delicious!! 

And it works perfectly mild for dry skin)

Lavera Hair Styling Gel 

(a musthave for curlies)

Lower row, left to right:

A lot of Lavera testers

Coconut Oil

Bio Coffee Sachets 

(drank them at work, quite nice coffee!)

And the polish part... It was not supposed to be there, but Sona was superkind: she had a look at my wishlist and enclosed 2 extra polishes, which were... some of my biggest lemmings of all times!!!!!!!!!!!

Left to right: 

RBL Diddy Mow (my first RBL bottle (and box) ever!!)

China Glaze Frosty (how many hours I spent in online shops and evilbay hunting it!!)

What can I say? Firstly, thanks a million to you, Sona : ) I have been reading your blog for ages, and I was so glad to find out that I'm a winner, especially on my birthday : ))) Secondly, these producuts are a real treasure to me, because I'm becoming a fan of natural/organic cosmetics more and more, in particular in my hair care. You see, for some time now I'm trying to follow a Curly Girl Method (my curly readers might find it interesting, esp. "before and after pics"), and the Nr.1 rule there is no SLS, silicons, parabens etc. So that's why I'm so excited about trying these!! And of course, await the swatches of the polishes, one of them I tried immediately, but I'd try both if only I had 2 pairs of hands : )

Humpty Dumpty

Are you familiar with a situation when you have been lemming a polish for ages, then suddenly you get it, you are crazily happy and then... the polish keeps standing on a shelf for a year, untried. Surely some of you do : ) Just like me sometimes.. Essence Humpty Dumpty was exactly this case. Last winter I totally missed this Fairytale LE of Essence and then I was mad at myself later when I realised I want it ALL. Got most of the polishes from a blog sale later. Tried 2 out of 4 so far *whistling*

Totally love the bottles of this edition. The colours too, but... I have major difficulties with describing them. By texture they are all foils, that's pretty clear.. And the shade..uhh. You know what? See yourself:  :)

The formula of this one was nice: 2 easy coats and here we go. But oh well, the colour...Dark grey with a purplish hue and intense silver shimmer? Something like that? Would love to hear your version : )

Oliva...Really?

Do the green olives in Portugal have this colour like Cliché Oliva which I am showing on my nails today? If yes, then I'm impressed, because I normally perceive something else under "green olive" shade : ) Anyway, a controversial name does not make the polish itself less attractive. Moreover, this bottle is very special for me, it's absolutely impossible to get here in Germany and that's why it made all its way from Portugal sent by Akuma Kanji in one of our swaps. 

Arguing with the manufacturer, I would say it's a green bottle glass shade with a peculiar texture, a special outstanding feature of Cliché polishes. Super glossy and glassy (no topcoat on the pictures!), easy to handle (2 coater, I applied 3 to get a deeper colour) and gorgeous looking. What else to want from a polish? Thank you, Akuma Kanji!!! =) 

Please don't think that I missed a chance to stamp on such a great base ^^ I applied a pattern from a newly bought m85 plate:

What do you think about "Oliva"? How about such green shades?

Deborah Milano #60

A pearl of my collection. If I bought it before the New Year, it would definitely go to my Top-list of 2011! The beauty of Deborah Milano #60 is very hard to describe, both on words and with pictures. It's a purple shimmer base filled with GORGEOUS golden shimmer. You know that I worship the golden shimmer in all its kinds, right? ; )

I tried my best to show all the allure of this shade by taking shots in different light conditions. First two are in a normal day light, it's when the shimmer comes up to the surface: 

On the direct sun (yes, we finally had a sunny day) it sparkles and shines like crazy - I didn't really catch it properly: 

And with the indoor electric light it glows slightly, but still mostly shows its purple base:

Application and coverage were totally ok, 2 coats and you are fine, although there are 3 on the photos: I wanted to see if the colour looks richer if you layer more coats. It does.

I hope you liked it, because I do, immensely. Now what I wonder is how it compares to Zoya Faye, OPI It's My Year, Orly Oiu and such. The only thing I know is that it has a dupe (!) - Kiko #354 [you can see Cristina's comparison here], so if you don't have Deborah Milano in your country (I got mine in Serbia hehe), you can always go for Kiko. That's pretty much the story =)

Kelly Psychedelly

It's not that often that I'm in the mood for such colours, but sometimes I feel like having grey and muddy nails. Painted with Zoya Kelly, for example. 

Nothing much to say, it's all been said and described. Dark grey creme with a dusty touch, covers the nails perfectly in 1 coat, although there are 2 on the pictures. Perfection, if you are okay with the colour. I was, it looked pretty stylish on short nails =) 

Later, when I fully enjoyed the pure colour for some days I stamped it with a kinda psychedelic Konad pattern that I never used before: 

What do you think about such colours? Cool and trendy or just too gloomy?

American Apparel Dynasty

Quickie postie to show you one polish I was wearing in October, but did not post about it because I thought the swatches came out awful. After some time my emotions and perfectionism outburst calmed down, and I actually don't see anything bad in them anymore. Not perfect for sure, but postable : ) This being said, please meet American Apparel Dynasty, a nice dusty purple mauvish creme. 

To my amazement, it was a 2-coater (with a SV top coat on the photos!), but I'm just too spoiled by other American Apparel polishes 1-coat texture.. Otherwise, no complaints about application and drying. I have a couple of similar dusty mauves, so when my nail stick tips will finally arrive from glorious China, I'll try to compare them. So far, that's it : )

When The Cat Is Away...

...the mice are going crazy. So, my boss is still on holiday and I'm using this opportunity to rock some crazy manicures : ) Today I'll show you one of them. But I warn you in advance: you better sit down before clicking the link.

This manicure is probably the most kitschy one I EVER had. And hopefully, the only one I'll hide under the cut.

A-England: 30% Off + FREE SHIPPING

You always wanted a couple of A-England polishes but never ordered because of their price and shipping costs? Today is your day! (picture clickable)

Hurry up, the offer ends soon!

I ordered Tritam which I was lemming for ages! Super happy about it : )